Colorado’s first loss seemed imminent as the fourth quarter went into its final minutes Saturday night, but quarterback Shedeur Sanders was determined to prevent that from happening on his watch.

Throughout the chippy battle between the hashes, Colorado State held the lead and an edge over Colorado as the Rams generated three-and-outs while the Buffs settled for field goals. Alejandro Mata’s field goals kept Colorado within one score and a 2-point conversion away from taking it to overtime, but Sanders and the Buffs hadn’t found the end zone since the first quarter.

As seen in the Celebration Bowl with Jackson State, the TCU game or other moments in Sanders’ career, the pressure brought forth his offensive excellence.

“Truthfully, at one point in the game, I said, ‘we can't let this dude win,’” head coach Deion Sanders said. “There is no way we let this dude win. The press conference is going to be unbearable if we let this dude win with it now, but I knew even if we got the ball on the 2, 3 or 4-yard line, as long as the ball is in Shedeur’s hands, we’re going to get down this field.

"I knew that without a shadow of a doubt.”